I am a city boy, so I don't know very much about the surrounding areas. However, there are several areas that I dream of as an avid gardener. Just south of 41st near Utica is a neighborhood called Bolewood Acres- all 1 acre lots with mature trees in a good school district with big beautiful homes- and corresponding price tags. This is in the middle of town. I know that "bad traffic" is relative, but I would take this area's traffic over the new South Tulsa traffic any day.
An interesting area if school districts are not an issue is just north and west of downtown Tulsa. I went with the wife to a Designers' Showcase home there a few years back and was shocked at some of the beautiful wooded lots and large homes there in an area I had never even known existed. Good Luck...

Thank you OkDustin for your information. I've put it in my file. Tell me more about the South Tulsa traffic. This sounds like an area to definitely avoid. This is number one problem where we are now. Our county has grown by 21% in the past five years. Can you imagine the traffic problems? The road in front of our house has become a favorite short-cut and receives so much traffic and resulting noise I have all but abandoned any garden work in the front and street-side yard. Very frustrating as it as a south side and I used to grow lots of sun-lovers there.
What do they say is the direction of growth of the city of Tulsa?

Consider that most Tulsa area soils is primarily clay based with different areas containing different depths of from silty loam to sand topsoil. In the older additions the top soil could have built up over the years to at least a foot deep. The newer additions usually have at least 4 inches of sandy loam topsoil on top of heavy clay which a home builder might have brought in or scraped down to inorder to bring the lot to the proper grade, prior to building.

immediately along the Arkansas river which cuts west and south through town one can find neighborhoods build on very deep sandy soil.

In South Tulsa, and Northwest Tulsa the hills consist of sheets of softer type rocks and layers of deposits which appear solid, but actually which shift and cause almost as much foundation problems as the shrinking and swelling clay soils.

On the upside, there are areas in the south Tulsa metroplex which have very deep from silty loam to sandy loam topsoil. I consider that soil a joy to garden and landscape in. Pecan trees, grow beautifully there along with many other deep soil needing trees and shrubs. This area is just west of the river, in southern Jenks. The western and southern parts of Bixby also have great soils for gardening. Then again there is a quaint small town just south of Bixby called Leonard, which has almost perfect soils for farming. These areas seem to be the uninvaded with heavy traffic and other busy city issues.

There is one other part of Town where I am very impressed with its top soils, and that is an area around 21st street in West Tulsa. If you can find your way to Colebrook Nursery while coming from I44 and exiting on the West 51st street exit; go straight through the light at the end of that exit and continue onto a gently curving road (not signed very well, but I think it might be called Gilcrease drive) which leads you to the light at West 41st; make a left onto 41st street and almost immediately turn right again at the very next opportunity. the next two miles down that street and along the side streets, one can find properties with lots that have wonderful loamy soils for planting and with many mature trees. This area seems quiet and tucked away, almost hidden and forgotten by the big developers or the trendy residents of Tulsa. Even though that area does not seem empty of neighborhoods, they stil seem very uncongested and unintruded upon. There are cliffs and hills farther west and north of this area, but the Arkansas river seems to separate the area from those high tree filled hills. It is almost like a seemingly huge peaceful valley; populated, yet undiscovered by the masses: a hidden fertile valley.

Sorry that I did not directly address the question of what areas of town are growing.

For years Tulsa has mainly developed south and east. Currently the Southern developement has pretty much reached Bixby, and the Southeast development now borders with Broken Arrow. A trend in the northeast portion of town which leads toward Owasso consists of fairly constant industrial tract development. Even Owasso does not seem to want to grow toward that area. Instead, Owasso seems to be experiencing rapid northward growth, along with slight northeast and northwest growth of that town.

Lots of new additions are quickly filling the open and treed fields in both southeast and northwest Broken Arrow. that growth also includes the northeast part of Tulsa which borders along that part of Broken Arrow.

The Towns of Bixby and Jenks have managed to hold onto their small town feel for a long time. the development and spread there is only about half or even less the rate of Tulsa. In the extreme section of Jenks around 121-151 streets South and just west of the river. There are still many vacant fields. A planned bridge is projected to be built over the river from 121st South in Tulsa, and ending at 131st street South in Jenks. This new bridge effort is promoting quite a few new additions to prop up in anticipation of the easy access the bridge would provide to that area. With out the bridge residents of that area either must drive all the way down to 151st, drive west through Bixby and back north up memorial drive to cross the river into Tulsa, or they have to to drive northward and through the often times congested small downtown area of Jenks to access the other bridge around 91st street to access the central part of south, midtown and downton Tulsa. For that reason many people have avoided populating those fertile fields.

There currently is strong opposition pressure coming from a South Tulsa residence group and a few others to prevent the proposed new bridge from being built. Even if it does get built the currently proposed toll to be charged for crossing the bridge could prove fairly daunting for those who might depend on using it at least twice daily.

You do not mention a concern for the need of access to a good school system. You also do not mention if you desire to purchase property which will be an investment to go up in value as time goes along. Most likely letting either of those issues prevail in your choice will set you inline with ending up in the more or soon to be congested parts of town with all their busy streets.

Of course if money is not limited, even in the most congested parts of town there are tucked away neighborhoods that are on large lots, walled in and gated, which go a long way toward buffering against the undesired congestion activity.

One other point is the fact that ground has been broken for Tulsa's next major shopping area. It is located along State Highway 75 and Tulsa's west 71st street. That area is actually west of the river in Tulsa. It is a given that major housing and retail development will fill this currently underdeveloped part of Tulsa and prove to be the next big wave of growth.

If the newly proposed bridge does not get built the property in southern Jenks should stay rather rural feeling for at least a couple more decades. The little hidden valley mentioned in my first responding post most likely should stay hidden, not because developers do not know about that location, but more because they do not think the money they invest to build huge houses there will ever generate the great profits for them as much as the more trendy more expansive areas they can currently see and rush their focus upon.

Please do NOT move to Tulsa seeking better traffic. I grew up there and now live in OKC. When I go back, I cannot wait to leave! The traffic is utter madness. My sister figured out that its far quicker and more relaxing to avoid major arterial streets completely. She just drives through neighborhoods to get from A to B.

The streets in much of the older part of town are insanely narrow. I drive a small Honda Civic and feel like driving amongst the SUVs and duelies is like playing russian roulette. I dread driving in Tulsa.

Having said that....Tulsa is absolutely gorgeous. Maybe much of the traffic will move to Owasso etc. and it will improve. That would be nice. But I don't get the impression they like to actually fix problems there. My sister says that they don't have room to store all their construction cones so they just move them around various parts of the city, never actually doing any construction of course.

Its a great place to grow up, when other people are driving. Its a great place to visit. I'd live there again if i could afford a chauffeur.
-MB

Look into the small town of Bixby. I chose to drive out there to my doctor rather then to closer medical facilities simply because the traffic is lighter. The soil is good sandy loam, not the hard packed clay of most of Tulsa. Very good public schools, and even a few nurseries out that way.

mrbreeze is right as far as the tight population in Tulsa. For decades the city planners and politians must have believed that it would always stay a small town. One very good point about a tight city as compared to the spread out OKC area, is that it does not take as much gas to get from one side of town to the next or from Tulsa to other nearby cities. Oklahoma City is so spread out, one generally puts more miles on their car each week just to get to the different parts of town.

It is true that since Oklahoma City is the state capital, there has historically been a glut of the percentage of state tax and federal government moneys spent on improving the roads in and around that city. That practice has left Tulsa and most other smaller towns in Oklahoma struggling for funds to build and maintain sufficient roadways.

As far as traffic control in the congested areas go with both cities, it is my opion that the traffic planners have done a poor job with how they handle the traffic lights.

All one has to do is drive 10 miles down Hulen Street in Fort Worth, Texas to clearly perceive what I just stated.
I do not think there could be a more congested street than Hulen, but it is amazing how well and quickly traffic flows. Then drive ten miles down one of OKC or Tulsa's busiest city streets, and you will highly resent the bottle neck those cities' stop light design causes.

So to be fair, it is not just high traffic patterns on city streets which cause the headaches. Rather the flow and less frustrations are more influenced by the skills of the traffic experts being given the freedom and funds to design a better traffic light system.

Both Tulsa, and Oklahoma City could improve greatly if they simply consulted with and implimented some of Fort Worth's traffic flow policies.

I live in Bixby and I love it out here. You're close enough to Tulsa to work but far enough away to enjoy the country life. If you prefer to live in the "burbs" there are several new additions going in all over. The soil here is great. I haven't found anything that I can't grow. As for the traffic if you stay south of 71st and East of Memorial you'll avoid most of it.

Although I'm a newbie to this forum and to the Tulsa/Sand Springs area, let me add that traffic and the way people drive here is absolutely wonderful compared to South Louisiana - trust me. You don't ever want to drive in Louisiana any time. Red lights and stop signs are merely suggestions down there. Personal injury lawyers make a killing. To our family, Tulsa is a joy and a beautiful place to be. Thanks for letting me air.

There are a lot of things you should know when you have to move. By knowing these relocation tips, you won't have a hard time packing and preparing your family to move into your new home. First, if you have just received word regarding your transfer, talk to you family about it especially your children because this will have a big impact on them when all their friends live nearby.

You should explain it to them in words that they understand or use some of their toys to make it clear to them while it is going on. Once they understand, get them involved with the packing because this will help them feel less insecure about what will life be like in the new neighborhood. The next step is to find a mover that will be able to move your stuff from your old place to the new one. You can find a moving company by looking in your phone book, online or getting a referral from your employer. It is best to compare the rates and find out what is included in the package.

Ideally, you should get a mover that will be able to pack everything for you and then unpack this in your new home. Some even offer the added service of putting it exactly where you want it to go so your new home does not look like a mess once their truck pulls away. It will also be wise to get some form of insurance from your mover so that in the event that they break something or an item was lost in transit, they will be ones held liable and they have to pay for it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tulsa Building Movers